Aoun Meets Khalil Who Assures ‘Intact’ Monetary Conditions

by Naharnet Newsdesk07 September 2018, 12:17

President Michel Aoun held talks with Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil at the Baabda Palace where talks focused on Lebanon’s economic conditions, the National News Agency reported Friday.

“We have discussed the economic situation. All indicators point out that Lebanon’s monetary and financial conditions are intact,” said Khalil after the meeting.

The meeting was held in the presence of head of the Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan.

For his part, Kanaan said: “It is our duty to follow up on the reforms approved in the fiscal budget. Threats about the economy collapse are inaccurate.”

On Thursday, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri described the economic situation in Lebanon as “dangerous and does not have the resilience it enjoyed during the eras of the formation of the previous governments.”

However, he clarified that his warning on the economic situation was not related to the status of the Lebanese lira.

Moreover, a statement released by the IMF in June said Lebanon needs immediate financial control to improve its capacity to serve the high public debt, which was over 150 percent of GDP at the end of 2017.

It also said that “traditional drivers of growth in Lebanon are subdued with weak real estate and construction and a strong rebound is unlikely soon.”